Day: April 20, 2017

While discussing Netherland by Joseph O’Neill in class today, the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center were brought up. These attacks not only had a big impact on the events in this literary work, but they also greatly impacted American foreign policy and history. The thought of these attacks, and the possibility that they could happen again, frightens me immensely. They are not something that I think about every day, however when I read the newspaper to catch up on current events, my fears are reestablished. New York City appears to be an optimal place for a terrorist attack to occur since it is one of the most important and well-known cities in America. This makes our home more of a target than other cities in the United States are. In addition, our class also discussed other people’s experiences on 9/11. Unfortunately, most of my classmates, including myself, are too young to be able to remember the events of this day first-hand. However, I have often heard my friends and family members tell stories about this day. Each person is able to recall what he or she was doing when these attacks began. Many of them say that they had never seen people be as kind to one another as they were in the first few weeks after the tragedy. The 2017 Presidential Election is the only situation I have experienced that I can liken this to. Much like those who witnessed 9/11, I was shocked when I awoke to discover that Donald Trump was the 45^th president of the United States. Baruch was eerily quiet that day. I even had some professors and peers who cried during class. For me, this was the most shocking event that I can remember living through. I am sure that I will never forget it.

Pursuing this thought further, another perplexing question that was raised in today’s class was whether the events of 9/11 spread so much panic that they would eventually cause the people of the United States to pick Donald Trump as their president, out of fear of immigrants. This theory makes sense since Trump repeatedly spews negative stereotypes about people of particular nationalities and maintains a loyal following despite these discriminatory remarks. At first it was difficult for me to understand where all of this hatred stemmed from. However, after listening to our class’s discussion, I have realized that perhaps this racism was perpetuated by the tragic events of 9/11. Fear of terrorism caused Americans to turn to the antithesis of tolerance, Donald Trump. However, it is important to remember that hate only breeds trepidation. We should embrace other cultures; we can’t live in fear of people’s differences forever.